Shrewd as Snakes, Pure as Pigeons

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NIV)

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NKJV)

This was part of the instructions that Jesus gave to His twelve apostles on the day He was sending them out to minister. In our times this can be equated with the graduation speech given in theological seminaries to the graduating seminarians. Before giving them a detailed instruction, Jesus gave them AIM.

1. Authority – He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority…… (Matthew 10:1)

2. Instructions – These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions…… (Matthew 10:5,6)

3. Message – As you go, preach this message……. (Matthew 10:7)

These days many are commissioned (either by the seminaries or by their churches or by themselves) to conduct programs rather than changing people. So ministers are also interested in programs rather than people. Because, they either lack AIM or are unaware of its proper usage or it is misused.

I am not going to go into the details of the AIM in this post, but I will focus on one, but a major instruction that Jesus gave to His apostles, which is very much applicable to all who minister. The reason why this instruction occupies the major portion of Jesus’ instructions here is, He does not want us to be thoroughly occupied with this, but whenever we face it we need to deal with it as a minor (that is not spending much time & energy) and go on concentrating on the major – the work of the gospel.

What did Jesus mean when He said that we should be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves? Jesus said this in the context of dealing with difficult people. Even as we would go on ministering for the Lord in a far away mission field or in the confines of our office, we will face such people. And most of the time instead of fighting the infernal & invisible enemy, Satan we will be fighting our own people. Instead of focusing on our ministries, we will be spending all our time, energy and thoughts in fuming against and battling our co-labourers. But if we know how to face such people & situations and have a healthy Biblical perspective, our time & resources would be properly utilized and we will be able to accomplish much & all that God wants to do through us.

1. People who do not welcome us or listen to us

Matthew 10:11-15

When someone does not welcome us, we feel bad and when he/she does not listen to us, we might contend with him/her. We might try to prove our point by arguing. But here Jesus does not say “if they do not welcome you or listen to you, argue with them and try to prove your point”. He just says, “walk off”. Many a times we might win the argument, but will lose the person. Contention only brings irritation. The Lord does not want us to carry any irritation against anyone when he/she does not welcome us or listen to us. We need to keep going where He sends us and keep saying what He says to us.

When others do not welcome us or listen to us we are not to contend with them, but to just calm down and come away.

2. People who accuse us

Matthew 10: 17-20

Here the verse does not say that we are accused because we did something wrong. But we are accused on the account of being true to God and His commission. When people accuse us, the natural outcome would be to try prove ourselves. Because we never want others to think bad of us, we would always like to be in the “good books” of others. That is not possible. People WILL accuse us. But we are not to react to such accusations and think it over and over again in our minds and find ways to answer the accusations. Jesus only says, “Do nor worry about what to say or how to say it”.

While answering accusations we should not be self-motivated, but Spirit-motivated.

3. People who hate us

Matthew 10:21-23

We will not only be hated by others but also by our own family members. People hate us because they do not like what we say and what we do. So we might try to change ourselves for them. It might mean, disobeying God and His call, to please people. Jesus says, “but he who stands firm to the end will be saved”. We need to stand firm in obeying God and in decisions that we made for God, until the end.

When we are hated & persecuted we are not supposed to retaliate, but only retire from that place.

4. People who do not value us

Matthew 10:24-31

Here Jesus quotes Himself as an example. If people called Jesus himself as Beelzebub (the prince of demons), how much more will they call us! When we get caught up in the trap of I-need-to-know-what-he-thinks-of-me, we lose focus and purpose. Because instead of trying to spend time in listening from the Lord and hearing His whispers (Matt 10:27), we start listening to gossips & whispers of others about us. But we need to fear God and not men. (Matt 10:28)

We might also get into yet another trap of do-they-value-me-? Jesus says that when we try to value us by others appreciations/depreciations, we consider ourselves less than sparrows! Our value and worth comes from Above and that happens only when our thoughts and actions are God-centred and not self-centred. And only when we are concerned about glorifying God and not us; when we do not worry for ourselves but for God’s reputation and His glory. (Matthew 10:32-33)

Our mental make-up is like that we seek to be counted worthy by others. And that determines our actions & reactions to people. But Jesus says that we need to be “worthy of Him”. (Matthew 10:37-38). The writer of the Hebrews resonates this truth while talking about the heroes of faith, “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38) For us too to be part of the list of heroes of faith, we need to seek to live a life worthy of Him, not seeking the worth of the world.

And this can happen only when,

1. We take up our cross and follow Jesus (Matt 10:38)

2. We are ready to lose our life for His sake (Matt 10:39)

Having difficult people in our lives is one of the cross that we need to carry. When we are concerned about our life, our reputation, our value, we will lose it. But when we would be willing to lose it all for Christ’s sake we will find it – in Him and we will be able to declare with Paul,

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

Cast Away - Take Up

Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

For a very long time I could not empathize with someone who says that he or she could not sleep in the night, until I had the same experience, not for one day or two days but for several months. After retiring to my bed, I used to struggle throughout the night with sleeplessness. My body would be tired because of the arduous work at the office, but my mind would refuse to stay at rest. There were so many matters that were troubling me and that would not allow me sleep. It was a very painful and tormenting experience. After a long struggle every night, I slept only in the early hours of the day to, to wake up in another hour or two.

Even after praying day after day, I could not find any deliverance from my sleeplessness. Only then the profoundness of the above verse struck my mind. There could be so many issues that might be bothering us. In the context of the 11th chapter of Matthew, we see three issues that can burden us.

1. Befuddled Belief

“Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matthew 11:3 (ESV)

The one who was filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15); who was to be called the prophet of the Highest, who was chosen to go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways (Luke 1: 76) – John the Baptist, he sends messengers to Jesus and asks of Him. The messenger doubts his message! This can happen to any of us as we go about proclaiming the gospel. An idea that we couldn’t counter, ‘cause of incertitude; a belief system that baffled us; a dogma that put our doctrine to doubt. And all of this could burden our minds.

Sometimes if we genuinely share these doubts to some of our spiritual friends or leaders, they might despise us or look down upon us. But that is not how Jesus reacts when we go to Him. Here is Jesus’ opinion of this John , the mazed messenger, who is doubting Him.

“What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:8-11 (ESV)

Jesus says that even the least is greater than John!

Jesus understands our burdens and our genuine struggles. He does not stop there. But clears our cares & concerns by taking us into His Word, that never changes, the absolute. In Matthew 11:4,5 “….and the poor have the gospel preached to them”Jesus takes John to a similar verse, the prophecy in Isaiah concerning Him in Isaiah 61:1-3 “……the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor….” Jesus takes John to the book which contains his call to confirm His call so as to cast off his confusion.

Confused of your call – Call unto Him;

Doubting the Doctrines – Direct to Him;

Confusions and Doubts, cast onto Him;

Confusions will be cleared and Doubts will depart;

As the Son speaks to us and the Spirit shows the Scriptures.

2. Peer Pressure / Conformance Concerned

“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” Matthew 11:16-19 (ESV)

We could be bothered by those who want us to think and act as they wish. May be you are under a control freak in your workplaces – a person who seeks to control every move of his subordinates. Our boss or TL wants us to do the project in his/her own way and may not allow our uniqueness to evolve.

 

Or we could be burdened by those who are always critical of us. When we do certain things in a way, they want us do it another way and the next time when we we do it that way, they want us to do it the other way. We might very well notice the inconsistency in his/her statements and proposals and that might have set very heavy on our hearts and minds.

 

Jesus calls us to Him promising rest from the reproaches! Again Jesus does not stop here. Matthew 11:19b says, “Yet wisdom is justified and vindicated by what she does (her deeds) and her children” (Amplified Bible). He gives us wisdom and our deeds will be proved right!

 

3. Few Fruits / ‘0’ Outcome

 

“Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.” Matthew 11:20 (ESV)

 

Even after putting in much effort we may not be seeing much results and that might weary us. Many missionaries see less fruits in their fields even after strenuous labour and that wearies them down.

 

In the movie ‘Beyond the Next Mountain’ an English missionary even after serving for many years among the Hamar people of Northeast India could not bring one man to the Lord and leaves a copy of the Gospel of John. Caroline Paint & Olive Jarvis were two unmarried missionaries who served in Bihar for more than 26 years and saw no results. All these missionaries were very much discouraged. The English missionary who served among the Hamar people would have never imagined what the Lord was going to do through that one gospel copy that he left. That was taken by a man by name Chawnga who passed it on to his son Rochunga Pudaite, who translated the Bible into the Hamar language which paved way for thousands to come to Christ! The missionaries who served in Bihar prayed to God to send a young man. Though they saw Bro. Augustine Jebakumar coming to Bihar as a missionary they never lived to see the great work of the Lord in Bihar.

 

But “in the day of judgment” (Matthew 11:22, 24) not only the un-repented will be judged, but Jesus also said, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay (reward) each person according to what he has done.” Matthew 16:27 (ESV)

 

Let us not loose heart seeing the poor results, but let us continue to do His ministry and fulfil His plans & purposes concerning us, not expecting an earthly recognition or reward, but an eternal one!

 

Whatever that might be which is burdening and bogging us down, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (ESV) But He does not stop there, He says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV)

 

It is a call for us to go to Him and cast OUR burdens upon Him and take HIS yoke upon us. Let’s check our lives today of all that which is burdening us – concerning our personal, family, work and ministerial spheres of life. If we would be bogged down with all of that, let’s go to Jesus and get rid of those thoughts. And receive His burdens.

 

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart" — Bob Pierce, World Vision founder

Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for...... the daughters of my people. (Jeremiah 9:1)

Cast your burdens onto Jesus, for He cares for you!

Take His burdens onto yourself, for He counts on you!!

Our burdens bog us down, His burdens build us  (& others) up!!!

The Complacency Complex

‘This is the rejoicing city that dwelt securely, that said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none besides me.”’(Zeph 2:15a)

Are we satisfied with the standard of our life? I am not talking about the house that we live in or the position that we are in (in a corporate industry or in the Church; in a MNC or in a mission) or the fame that we have earned or the money that we have massed or the richness that we have reached. I am talking about our moral life.

Why is it that our moral life is important? Because none of the above mentioned can save us from destruction. In Zephaniah, the Lord says that, “I will cut off…. the priests” (Zeph 1:4); “I will punish the princes & the king’s children….” (Zeph 1:8); “For all the merchant people are cut down; all those who handle money are cut off.” (Zeph 1:11)

Why does God say that He will destroy all the people – the priest, the princes & the plenteous? All of them were settled in complacency and were viewing their success with pride. But the Lord does not leave us in our sorrier state: “I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil’”. (Zeph 1:12)

Now, we need to ask ourselves - Has success set superbia? Has popularity planted pride? Has contentment caused complacency? Let not success lead to pride and bring forth complacency in us. Because if we lack humility, the Lord will view our success with scorn; popularity with pity; contentment with contempt.

We need to be very careful to not allow any of these  to set in our life. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:34, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Two new testament writers James & Peter throw more light on this verse by bringing in an appropriate context:

James explains why God resists the proud. Because pride promotes strife. A proud man does not get along with people; does not accept or value others opinions; and the proud spends all that he possesses on his own pleasures. (James 4:1-6). Peter exhorts everyone to be submissive to one another. (1 Peter 5:5-6)

A complacent person does not understand his moral and spiritual state. He does not obey God’s voice, does not receive correction, does not trust in the Lord and does not draw near to God. (Zeph 3:1,2).

The book of Zephaniah says whom does the Lord establish: “I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord….. and no one shall make them afraid.” (Zeph 3:12,13)

The secret of Scripture sanctioned success:

“Seek the Lord…… Seek righteousness…. Seek humility….” (Zeph 2:3) And then the Lord promises - “I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.” (Zeph 3:19)

Even as we continue to seek the Lord, His righteousness and seek to be humble, He will give us success and “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness….” (Zeph 3:17)

Let success be succeeded by humility and popularity by perspicacity; let a holy discontentment grip us.

The book of Zephaniah does not stop here. The Lord is seeking for those who are not only personally humble & constantly check their lives, but who sorrow over those who do not live such lives and whose reproach is a burden unto them. (Zeph 3:18) Their hearts are broken by those things that break God’s heart!